New York Times Proctologist, Signing Off

“Well, you’re here. You must be dumber than you look.” New York Times public editor Clark Hoyt remembered hearing these words from publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. on his first day.

In his last column over the weekend, Mr. Hoyt also remembered one highlight from his interactions with Bill Keller.

Bill Keller, the executive editor, once joked as we walked down the passageway to his office for an interview that he was heading for his weekly proctological exam. But throughout my tenure, Keller was gracious and supportive.

Mr. Hoyt’s goodbye was an overwhelmingly friendly one, praising The Times courage for inviting “someone like me into its midst: an outsider with no investment in its mystique or the quirks of its newsroom culture.”

An outsider, yes, but also a fan. Mr. Hoyt closed the column saying that he looks forward to the end of his tenure because he can go back to “savoring” the paper as a reader.